Fluid-dispensing and refilling system for a power toothbrush

ABSTRACT

The fluid delivery/refilling system includes a unit-of-use fluid reservoir for dentifrice or medication within a head portion of a power toothbrush, which is removable from the remainder thereof. A pump element is located in the brushhead and is configured so that the back and forth movement of the brushhead in operation results in fluid moving from the reservoir to a dispensing valve located in the brushhead. The dispensing valve has an end portion which is normally closed, opening under pressure of fluid from the pump. The refilling assembly is separate from the toothbrush and is configured to fit over the top of the toothbrush. Upward pressure exerted on the toothbrush when the toothbrush is within the refilling assembly results in movement of a core element in the refilling assembly, which in turn results in a hollow needle in the refilling assembly extending into a refiller valve in the head portion of the toothbrush. This results in a fluid path between the refilling assembly and the reservoir in the toothbrush. A selected sequence of movement of the toothbrush relative to the refilling results in fluid being moved from the external reservoir through the needle into the on-board unit-of-use reservoir in the toothbrush.

PRIOR APPLICATION

This is a division of prior patent application Ser. No. 09/229,979, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,402,410 filed on Jan. 13, 1999, titled “Fluid-Dispensingand Refilling System for a Power Toothbrush”. Priority of thatapplication is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120. The contents of thatapplication are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to fluid-dispensing power toothbrushes,and more specifically concerns such a toothbrush which has an on-boardreservoir and refilling arrangement and a fluid path arrangement whichincludes a pump element located in the brushhead portion of thetoothbrush. The pump element uses the action of the moving brushhead tomove fluid from the on-board reservoir to the bristles on the brushhead.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The effective delivery of an oral dentifrice and/or medication capableof inhibiting or killing bacteria responsible for dental disease haslong been desirable and has been the subject of a substantial amount ofresearch effort. A wide variety of devices, both active and passive,have been developed to accomplish the delivery of dentifrice ormedication to the bristles. Such devices have been developed for bothmanual and power toothbrushes. Manual toothbrushes typically use ahand-operated pump, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,492 toBoscardin et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,370 to Gingras, while powertoothbrushes use a variety of approaches, including on-board andexternal active pumping devices, which include various mechanical,pneumatic and hydraulic elements.

Some power toothbrush fluid-dispensing systems use the action of thetoothbrush itself to draw a dentifrice from the reservoir to thebristles, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,590 to Giuliani et al.Some representative examples of fluid-dispensing systems for manual andpower toothbrushes include U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,110 to Balamuth; U.S.Pat. No. 5,066,155 to English et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,933 to Lustigand U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,728 to Kuo.

The reservoir for the dentifrice is typically located either in thehandle portion of the toothbrush, such as shown in the '590 patent, orin a separate device, such as shown in the '110 patent. In some cases,the reservoir is disposable, so that when the fluid in the reservoir isdepleted, the reservoir itself is discarded and a replacement reservoiris inserted. Such a system is shown in the '370 patent. In othersystems, the reservoir is refillable. Typically, the reservoir containssufficient fluid for a substantial number of individual uses of thefluid dentifrice or medication.

Various systems for dispensing the fluid from the brushhead are alsoknown. In some cases, the fluid is dispensed from a plurality ofopenings in the brushhead itself, such as shown in the '492 patent,while in other cases, the fluid is dispensed through the bristlesthemselves, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,261 to Evans.

Fluid-dispensing systems in general, however, have often been difficultto operate, unreliable and expensive. Many such systems are too complexfor reliable operation and/or are incapable of working properly, whileother systems fail due to clogging of the fluid lines or exit openings,or poor pumping action, among other reasons. Also, it is difficult todesign a system with a pump small enough to fit within a typicaltoothbrush structure. External pumps are often used, which are bulky andexpensive. The pump element, whether on-board or external, is typicallytoo complex for sustained, reliable operation, or too expensive to bepractical. For all of these reasons, fluid-dispensing systems for bothmanual and power toothbrushes have not been particularly successful.

Because of the potential benefits, it is desirable to have afluid-dispensing system in a power toothbrush which is reliable and yetsufficiently simple in design that it is practical to manufacture andmaintain.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention includes a fluid delivery system fora power toothbrush, comprising: a reservoir which is located within atoothbrush head portion of a power toothbrush, wherein the head portionis removable from the handle portion of the toothbrush; a pump memberand associated fluid line for moving fluid from the reservoir to abrushhead part of the head portion of the toothbrush; and a dispensingmember located in the brushhead, connected to the fluid line, forreceiving fluid from the pump member and permitting exit of fluidtherefrom to the vicinity of the bristles, under pressure provided bythe pump member.

The invention also includes a pump for use in the fluid delivery systemfor a power toothbrush, comprising: a pump member for moving fluid froma reservoir to a dispensing member located in a brushhead portion of atoothbrush, wherein the pump member includes a chamber and a ball whichmoves within the chamber in response to movement of the brushhead duringoperation of the toothbrush, wherein movement of the ball in the chamberresults in fluid moving from the reservoir into the pump member and thenout of the pump member with sufficient pressure to move the fluid to thedispensing member and then outwardly therefrom.

The invention also includes a refilling system for a power toothbrushfor use with a power toothbrush having an internal reservoir locatedtherein from which fluid in operation is moved to the bristles in thebrushhead, the internal reservoir having a small volume, at least oneunit of use, the refilling system comprising: an external refillingassembly which is separate from the power toothbrush, the refillingassembly having a fluid reservoir which contains a substantial volume offluid, at least a plurality of unit-of-use volumes of fluid; meansassociated with the refilling assembly and the power toothbrush forproducing a fluid path from the refilling assembly to the powertoothbrush; and means for moving fluid from the refilling assembly tothe internal reservoir in the power toothbrush.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a toothbrush which incorporates thefluid-dispensing system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the head portion of thetoothbrush of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a portion of the fluid-dispensingsystem of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of a refill valve of thefluid-dispensing system of the present invention, with and without arefilling needle therein.

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view showing the pump member and thebrushhead.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views showing the movement of fluidbetween the reservoir and the brushhead, including the pump elementwhich moves the fluid.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the dispensing valve of thefluid delivery system.

FIGS. 9 through 13 are diagrams showing the refilling assembly of thepresent invention and the process of refilling the on-board reservoir ofthe toothbrush of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the refilling assembly.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a typical power toothbrush in which the fluid-dispensingand refilling system of the present invention is used. It should beemphasized, however, that the present invention is not limited to theparticular power toothbrush shown and described or a particularbrushhead movement. Rather, the principles of the present invention canbe used with a variety of power toothbrush configurations and structuralarrangements, with some aspects of the invention even being usable in amanual toothbrush.

The power toothbrush of FIG. 1, shown generally at 10, comprises ahandle portion 12 and a removable head portion 14. In the handle portionis a power unit, including an electromagnetic driver and a battery formoving a brushhead 18, which is mounted on a pivoting arm, in aside-to-side manner, as discussed in more detail below. Toothbrush 10 iscontrolled by a pushbutton on/off switch 19.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the principal parts of the headportion 14 of the toothbrush of FIG. 1. The head portion includes twomating body parts 22 and 24, which are fitted together about a supportmember 32. Body part 24 includes an extended shield 26 for brushhead 18.Brushhead 18 is mounted on a pivot arm 30, which in turn is mounted forpivoting action about a torsion pin pivot member 33, which extendsbetween opposing sides of support member 32. Pivot arm 30 is driven by aelectromagnetic driver (not shown) in handle portion 12 of thetoothbrush, operating on magnetic elements 36 at the end of pivot arm30. The structure and operation of such a toothbrush is described inmore detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,153 to Giuliani et al, owned by thesame assignee as the present invention.

Rubber seal 38 and plastic ring 40 seal arm 30 to the body parts 22 and24, preventing moisture from moving back into head portion 14. A nutportion 15 connects head portion 14 to handle portion 12 through athreaded connection. Positioned in an internal cavity 46 formed by thetwo mated body portions 22 and 24 is an on-board reservoir 50. On-boardreservoir 50 is generally arrow-shaped in configuration, approximately 2inches long, having front and rear similar flexible plastic panelsjoined together along the peripheral edges thereof. On-board reservoir50 in the embodiment shown typically holds sufficient fluid for onebrushing use, i.e. one “unit of use”. This relatively small on-boardreservoir volume is significant, in that it permits a fluid reservoir tobe positioned in the removable head portion 14 of the toothbrushstructure of FIG. 1. This arrangement has a number of advantages,including a relatively short fluid travel path and an overall simplicityof structure. Accordingly, when head portion 14 is replaced, such aswhen the bristles of brushhead 18 are worn, reservoir 50 as well as theassociated fluid delivery system is part of the replacement unit.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, extending from reservoir 50 is a short tubesection 52 which fits into a lower end of a refilling valve 56, which isexplained in more detail below. Extending from the side of refillingvalve 56, above the entry point of tube section 52, is a flexible fluidline 60 which in the embodiment shown is flexible plastic materialapproximately 0.10 inches in diameter and approximately 1 inch long.Fluid line 60 connects to a fluid inlet tube 62, which has a diameter ofapproximately 0.05 inches, and extends into brushhead 18 at a proximalend 64 thereof.

FIGS. 5-8 show the fluid delivery structure within brushhead 18,including a fluid pump 66, a fluid-delivery cavity 68 which extends frompump 66 in a base element 76, and a fluid-dispensing valve 70 whichextends upwardly from delivery cavity 68, through brushhead 18 abovesurface 71 of the brushhead, into the bristle region 72 of thetoothbrush.

Fluid inlet tube 62 extends into brushhead 18 to where it contacts theentry region 83 (FIG. 7) of fluid pump 66. Fluid pump 66 is an irregularblock of material having a cylindrical opening 75 which extendslaterally thereof. Fluid pump 66 is positioned at one end of theelongated base element 76. Elongated base element 76 is approximately0.03 inches thick and has a cutout or cavity portion 68 which extendsfrom pump 66 to approximately the other end 80 of base element 76.Cavity portion 68 in the embodiment shown is approximately 0.015 inchesdeep.

As shown in FIG. 5, fluid pump 66 and base element 76 in the embodimentshown form a unitary member, which fits into a matching cavity 77 in thelower surface of the brushhead. Cavity 77 is configured to provide asolid seal for the ends of cylindrical opening 75 in pump 66 when theunitary member is correctly positioned in cavity 77. Fluid deliverycavity 68 connects exit portion 85 of pump 66 and the lower end ofdispensing valve 70. A lip 84 surrounding cavity 68 in base element 76contacts a mating surface 87 in the brushhead when the unitary pump andbase element are in place, providing a fluid-tight seal around cavity68. Cavity 68 thus serves as a fluid-delivery means connecting pump 66with dispensing valve 70.

Pump 66 is configured with opposing corners being relieved, the relievedportions extending, respectively, from the opposing open ends ofcylindrical opening 75, around adjacent corners of the block, to a pointapproximately half-way along the adjacent side of the pump 66. Thisconfiguration is shown most clearly in FIGS. 6 and 7. A spherical ball63, which functions as a piston, rides in cylindrical opening 75. Entryregion 83 overlaps one end of opening 75, while exit region 85 overlapsthe other end of opening 75. Exit region 85 connects to fluid deliverycavity 68 in the base element. Hence, there is a complete fluid pathfrom tube 62 to cavity 68. The ball 63 moves within cylindrical opening75, producing a pumping action for the fluid which enters opening 75, asthe brushhead moves from side to side in operation.

Proper clearance between ball 63 and the interior surface of cylindricalopening 75 is important for correct pumping operation, with adequatefluid pressure to valve 70. In the embodiment shown, the clearance isapproximately 0.0015 inches.

In operation, during the outlet stroke, as the ball moves toward theexit or outlet region 85 for opening 75, fluid is moved both toward theoutlet region and also around the piston toward the inlet region 83 foropening 75. On the return stroke of the piston (toward the inlet region83), the closed dispensing valve forces fluid to pass around the balltoward the outlet region, in preparation for the next outlet stroke. Theflow rate is partially dependent on the amplitude of the brushheadmovement and hence is a function of the loading of the toothbrush. Whenthe brushhead system is a resonant system, such as described in the '153patent, the flow rate increases when the bristles are in contact withthe teeth. The pumping action will occur with or without a dispensingvalve at the end of the fluid path and is self-priming in operation,i.e. it can pump air.

The action of the piston ball 63 moving back and forth in the openingdue to the back and forth action of the brushhead forces fluid out ofthe outlet region 85 of the pump and allows fluid to enter inlet region83 from fluid tube 62. In the outlet region 85, fluid moves around thecorner of the pump block and along the adjacent side, bound by the wallsof the brushhead cavity into which the pump and base element fits. Thefluid moves into cavity 68 in base element 76, around a small divertingmember 92 near the end of cavity 68 into internal opening 94 of baseportion 96 of the dispensing valve 70.

The dispensing valve 70 is shown in FIG. 8. Internal opening 94 isapproximately 0.07 inches in diameter. Valve 70 in the embodiment shownis 0.34 inches high. Valve 70 is known as a “duck bill” valve because ithas two converging lip portions 98 and 100 at the free end 101 thereof.The two lip portions 98 and 100 are normally closed, i.e. pressedtogether, to prevent leakage and/or backflow of fluid. Fluid is moved bythe back and forth action of the brushhead and the action of the pump,into valve 70, with sufficient pressure to force apart the two lips 98and 100, dispensing the fluid into the area of the bristles in spurts oneach “outlet” stroke of the piston. The valve shown not only preventsbackflow of fluid, which is a potential source of contamination, butalso assists in making the pump self-priming as well as determining theoutput flow speed and velocity.

The “duck bill” valve 70 is conventional, made out of a flexible plasticmaterial to facilitate opening and closure of the lip portions 98 and100. In the embodiment shown, the free end of valve 70 extends above thebase of the brushhead approximately 0.18 inches. It is locatedapproximately in the middle of the bristles both longitudinally andlaterally, although this is not necessary to proper operation of thesystem.

In operation, as brushhead 18 moves from side to side, such that pistonball 63 moves back and forth between the inlet and outlet ends of thecylindrical opening 75, small volumes (approximately 0.00013 cc) offluid will be successively moved from the reservoir through the pump 66and then to the dispensing valve 70. The lips 98, 100 of valve 70 partslightly with each small surge of fluid, but close again after the surgehas passed. The successive amounts of fluid are forced out into thebristle area and are delivered to the desired region of the teeth by theaction of the moving bristles.

Hence, there is a continuous (in small successive spurts) delivery offluid to the area of the bristles during bristle action. This system hasseveral advantages over existing systems. First, the continuous (in theform of successive spurts or pulses) nature of the fluid deliveryprevents the effect of the fluid from becoming diluted over the brushingtime, which is the case when the fluid, be it conventional dentifrice ororal medication, is administered at the start of brushing. Second, theeffect of the fluid is enhanced with the present invention because thefluid can be provided directly to the area of bristle action.

In the case of the particular action of the toothbrush shown, in themanner and with the operating characteristics, including frequency andamplitude, set forth in the '590 patent, the effect of the fluid,dentifrice or medication, is frequently enhanced due to the cavitationand other action of the fluid created by the bristle action. This is inaddition to the precise delivery of the fluid to specific regions ofinterest in the mouth, including the gingival areas in the gum line andbetween the teeth.

Hence, the fluid-dispensing system of the present invention is not onlypractical and reliable, but it has a significant therapeutic effect whenused under selected operating conditions, such as those produced by theaction of the toothbrush in the '590 patent.

As indicated above, reservoir 50 in the embodiment shown has aunit-of-use volume, i.e. the volume is sufficient for one brushing oftypical length, i.e. two minutes or so. The system of the presentinvention also includes a refilling system for the unit-of-usereservoir. The refilling system is shown in FIGS. 9-14.

FIG. 9 shows the refiller apparatus 102 in general, for use with thetoothbrush of FIG. 1. To refill the unit-of-use reservoir 50 in the headportion of the toothbrush, the refiller apparatus 102 fits down over thetop of the toothbrush, with the head portion and the brushhead portionof the toothbrush extending up into the interior of the refillerapparatus 102. The refiller apparatus includes a housing 104, with aviewing window 106 which shows a portion of the interior of the refillerapparatus so that the user can ascertain proper insertion of thetoothbrush.

FIG. 10 shows the various portions of the refiller apparatus. Itincludes housing 104 and an interior core element 110. Core element 110includes a lower portion 112 which is configured to receive and matewith an upper part of the head portion of the toothbrush. Brushhead 18extends upwardly through an opening 114 in core element 110. Coreelement 110 has opposing side tracks 116 and 118 which extend from alower edge 117 of the core element upwardly thereof, on the exteriorsurface 119 thereof. Tracks 116 and 118 mate with corresponding matingchannels (not shown) on interior surface 120 of housing 104.

This arrangement permits the core element 110 to move up and down aselected distance within housing 104 in a reliable fashion, withoutrotation or side-to-side movement. Extending upwardly from the top oflower portion 112 of core element 110 is a narrow extending member 122,with a horizontal lip 124 at the upper end thereof and two spaced wingelements 126 and 128 at the base thereof, adjacent the top of the lowerportion. Lower portion 112 of core element 110 also includes a flatsurface portion 130 at the upper end thereof, adjacent wing element 128.Extending through this flat surface portion 130 is a small opening 132.Opening 132 conveniently and readily accommodates a refilling needlefrom the refilling apparatus.

Positioned above core element 110 is a pump assembly 140, which includestherein a refilling reservoir 111. Positioned within pump assembly 140is a fill needle 142, which is oriented vertically with a base portion141 of the needle mounted to a seal assembly 144, which fits into a pumpchamber portion 145 of the pump assembly 140 in a sealing relationshipto the interior peripheral surface of the pump chamber. In the top ofthe pump assembly 140 is an opening 150 which connects with refillingreservoir 111 within the pump assembly. A top element 154 snaps onto anupper lip 156 of pump assembly 140. At the center of top element 154 isa cavity-like portion 158, at the bottom of which is an opening 160(shown partially in FIG. 10), which can be either in or out of registrywith opening 150 in the pump assembly, depending upon the rotationalposition of the top element. The refiller reservoir 111 may be filledthrough these two openings 160 and 150 when the top element is in thecorrect position such that the two openings are in registry.

FIGS. 11-13 are cross-sectional diagrams showing the sequence of stepsin the refilling process for the unit-of-use reservoir 50 in thetoothbrush. In FIG. 11, the toothbrush has been just positioned withinthe refiller apparatus, with the core element 110 being at its lowermostposition. In this position, lip 124 of extending member 122 remains in areceiving slot 170 within the refiller apparatus, as is the case whenthere is no toothbrush within the refiller. In this position, the lowerend 164 of fill needle 142 just penetrates through opening 132 insurface 130 of the core element. The needle base 141 and seal assembly144 are in their lowermost position within pump chamber 145. A spring174 within pump chamber 145 tends to maintain the needle base and sealassembly in their lowermost position. Chamber inlet valve 176 at thelower end of pump chamber 144 is in its closed (lowered) position, asshown. The body of needle 142 is sealed to the lower edge member 149 ofchamber 145 by seal 178.

As the toothbrush is inserted further into core element 110 by a user,the particularly configured curved shoulders of the head portion of thetoothbrush push against the wing elements 126, 128 at the base ofextending member 122 (FIG. 10). This action forces the extending member122 backwardly sufficiently that lip 124 at the top of the extendingmember moves out of receiving slot 170, allowing the core member to movefurther up within the refiller apparatus. Further upward pressure on thetoothbrush by the user results in further upward movement of the coreelement 110, with fill needle 142 penetrating further through opening132 in the core element and into refiller valve 56 of the head portion14 of the toothbrush (shown in FIG. 2).

FIG. 12 shows a mid-position of the movement of the core element wherethe upper surface of the core element 110 abuts a shoulder portion 180of fill needle 142. To achieve this mid-position, the core element hasmoved upwardly within the refilling apparatus, but neither the needleitself nor the seal assembly 144 to which base 141 of fill needle 142 isattached has moved within pump chamber 145. Inlet valve 176 remainsclosed.

Referring now to FIG. 13, further upward movement of the toothbrush willresult in further upward movement of core element 110 within therefilling assembly, the core element pushing upwardly against theshoulder portion 180 of fill needle 142. The needle 142, its basesection 141 and the seal assembly 144 move upwardly within pump chamber145, against the action of spring 174, producing a volume 187 betweenthe needle base 141 and the lower end of pump chamber 145. Fluid fromthe refilling reservoir is drawn into volume 187 by vacuum actionthrough inlet valve 176, which moves upwardly. Volume 187 fills withfluid as needle base 141 and seal assembly 144 move upwardly against theaction of spring 174 in pump chamber 145.

Fill needle 142 has spaced openings around its periphery where it joinsbase portion 141. More particularly, needle 142 joins base portion 141through a “cross-hair” structure, with the space between the adjacentportions of the cross-hair structure being open to the hollow interiorof the needle. When the core element reaches its highest position withinthe refiller assembly, volume 187 has a capacity of approximately 4 ml,and is completely filled with fluid from the refilling reservoir 111.

At this point, the brushhead is withdrawn slightly. When the brush iswithdrawn, the action of spring 174 forces the seal assembly 144, thebase portion 141 of the needle and the fill needle 142 itself downwardlywith pump chamber 145, decreasing the volume 187. The fluid in volume187 is forced through the cross-hair openings at the base of the fillneedle down into and through the hollow interior of fill needle 142 andout opening 188 at the lower end of the needle.

Opening 188 in needle 142 at this point is within the refilling valve inthe toothbrush, as explained above. Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, needle142 extends down through a top seal element 189 in the valve 56 toapproximately the lower end 190 thereof. The valve 56 seals around theneedle 142 in region 193, preventing any backflow of fluid from theneedle through outlet port 194, which connects with fluid line 60. Fluidcoming out opening 188 in the needle moves through port 192 into fluidline 52 (FIG. 3), which leads to the on-board reservoir 50.

The amount of fluid moved from the refilling apparatus into reservoir 50is approximately 4 milliliters in the embodiment shown, which is theamount of fluid appropriate for one unit-of-use. Other amounts, however,could be dispensed to the on-board reservoir, if desired, depending onthe capacity of the reservoir. When the toothbrush is sufficientlywithdrawn from the refilling assembly, the needle, its base portion andthe seal assembly are back to their original position in the refillingapparatus, as shown in FIG. 12. The toothbrush is then removed from therefiller apparatus, ready for a single use of fluid, i.e. a singlebrushing event. The refilling of the on-board reservoir 50 occurs priorto each brushing.

While the embodiment shown includes a single unit-of-use reservoir, withthe reservoir being filled for each brushing, it is possible to modifythe reservoir so as to have fluid for more than one use. The externalrefilling assembly, however, will still be useful for convenientrefilling of the reservoir, permitting use of a relatively small fluidreservoir on board the toothbrush, thus saving space and pumpingrequirements.

Hence, a new fluid-dispensing and refilling system for powertoothbrushes has been described. The system includes a small unit-of-usereservoir in a removable head portion of the toothbrush. A fluid lineextends from the reservoir to a small pump element located in thebrushhead. The pump element, with the back and forth action of thebrushhead, provides movement of the fluid from the reservoir to adispensing valve in the head of the toothbrush, through which fluidmoves to the bristles.

The on-board reservoir is refilled before each use by a separaterefilling apparatus, into which the toothbrush is inserted. Movement ofthe brushhead relative to the refilling apparatus in a particularsequence results in fluid in the refiller reservoir moving through afill needle and refiller valve in the head portion of the toothbrushinto the on-board unit-of-use reservoir.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosedherein for illustration, it should be understood that various changes,modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in such embodimentwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, which is defined bythe claims as follows.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refilling system for use with a powertoothbrush having an internal reservoir located therein from which fluidin operation is moved to the bristles in the brushhead, the internalreservoir having a small volume, at least one unit-of-use, the refillingsystem comprising: an external refilling assembly separate from thepower toothbrush, having a fluid reservoir which contains a substantialvolume of fluid, at least a plurality of unit-of-use volumes; meansassociated with the refilling assembly and the power toothbrush forestablishing a fluid path from the refilling assembly to the powertoothbrush; a refilling valve member in the power toothbrush, the valvemember including a first connection leading to the reservoir in thetoothbrush and a second connection leading to a pump member in thetoothbrush, wherein the refilling assembly includes a refilling elementhaving an opening at one end therefore for exit of fluid through therefilling valve member to the internal reservoir in the power toothbrushand an opening at the other end for receiving fluid from the fluidreservoir in the refilling assembly, and wherein the toothbrush isadapted to fit into the refilling assembly such that the refillingelement penetrates into the refilling valve member when the refillingvalve member and the toothbrush are in a particular physicalrelationship; and means for moving fluid through the fluid path from therefilling assembly to the internal reservoir in the power toothbrush. 2.A system of claim 1, wherein the refilling assembly is configured topermit insertion of the toothbrush thereinto in a cooperatingrelationship, such that when the toothbrush is in a selectedrelationship within the refilling assembly, said fluid path isestablished from the refilling assembly to the power toothbrush.
 3. Asystem of claim 1, wherein the refilling system includes a top memberwhich is movable between two positions, wherein in one position anopening in the top member comes into approximate registry with anopening in a top surface of the remainder of the refilling system,leading to the reservoir therein, so that the reservoir in the refillingsystem can be conveniently refilled, and wherein in the other position,the opening in the top member is completely out of registry with theopening in the top surface of the remainder of the refilling system. 4.A system of claim 1, wherein the refilling assembly includes a coremember which is movable within the refilling assembly, the core memberbeing configured to receive an upper portion of the toothbrush,including the brushhead, such that when pressure is applied to thetoothbrush against the core element, the core element moves, resultingfirst in a hollow needle element in the refilling assembly penetratinginto the refilling valve in the toothbrush, and wherein further movementof the brushhead against the core element results in a further movementof the needle within the refilling assembly, the needle having a baseportion and a sealing member positioned in a pump chamber portion of therefilling assembly, wherein fluid moves into the pump chamber and theninto the hollow needle as the toothbrush is moved to its highest pointinto the refilling assembly and then down again, the fluid movingthrough the needle, the refilling valve and into the toothbrushreservoir.